Man Held In Murder Of Girl, 9

Suspect Had Lived In Coconut Creek

April 15, 1996|By SANDRA PEDICINI THE ORLANDO SENTINEL

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - — Knott On the eve of his arrest in the death of Jessica Knott, 9, James Edward Crow Jr. sat in his apartment watching televised reports of the candlelight vigil for the girl. Neighbor Cindy Lee said Crow seemed "real casual, real laid back" as she sat with him in his plainly furnished apartment.

A day later, Crow was charged with murder. On Sunday, a judge ordered Crow held without bond in the Seminole County Jail to face a May 16 arraignment on a charge of suffocating the girl.

Lee said she still can't believe police think her shy neighbor killed Jessica. "We all just wanted to think he didn't," she said.

Crow appeared to enjoy the publicity he got after police began questioning him about Jessica's death, Lee said. She said he told her he taped the TV news when he was shown walking out of the police station after questioning.

On Sunday, Crow stood motionless as the judge appointed a public defender. After the court appearance, his wife, Karen Margo Crow, quickly left the jail, refusing to answer reporters' questions except to say, "No, he's not guilty."

In recent years, they lived in two other Florida towns - Coconut Creek and in the west Pasco County community of Hudson.

Police focused their investigation on Crow within hours of finding Jessica's body on April 5.

They questioned him Monday after the girl's mother said the voice on a 911 tape telling police where to find the body sounded like Crow's. An expert said he's 85 percent sure the voice is Crow's. Police cite other evidence: Hairs found on Jessica's body matched those on Crow's dog, and trash bags confiscated in his apartment were similar to the one in which the girl's body was found.